The Colombian steel sector has raised concerns about the natural gas shortage, which could lead to sharp price increases in 2026. Currently, the domestic gas production is no longer sufficient to cover all domestic demand and is beginning to severely impact Colombian industries.

According to the Colombian Association of Large Industrial and Commercial Energy Consumers, the price of natural gas for the industrial sector rose from US$3.89 per 1 million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2020 to US$6.75 in 2025, a 32% increase in five years.

Even worse, companies that consume gas in their operations expect pessimistically that they will only have 51.9% of the gas they need to operate in 2026, and they anticipate an additional price increase of up to 50.8%.

For the steel sector, the Colombian Chamber of Steel Producers expressed concern because Colombian steel is produced in electric furnaces that depend on natural gas, which currently accounts for about 10% of the transformation cost of products such as rebar. Under the new contractual terms, they expect this share to double and surpass 20%.